1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an injection joint, and more particularly to an injection joint for a intravenous (IV) device tube to allow a medicinal solution to be added to an IV drip without using a needle without interrupting the IV drip.
2. Description of Related Art
Since some patients cannot ingest nutrients or medicine orally, nutrients or medicine must be administered in an intravenous (IV) dripcontainer.
With reference to FIG. 8, a conventional IV solution container (11) must have an IV tube assembly (not numbered) to connect the IV solution container (11) to a patient (not numbered). The IV tube assembly also controls how quickly the IV solution is administered and provides a means to inject medicine into the IV solution. The IV tube assembly comprises a container needle (13), an upper IV tube (15), a lower IV tube (18), an injection joint (not numbered), a flow control apparatus (19) and a hypodermic needle (21).
The upper IV tube (15) has an upper end (not numbered) and a lower end (not numbered).
The container needle (13) is eccentric cavity, is connected to the upper end of the upper IV tube (15) and is inserted into the IV solution container (11).
One embodiment of the conventional injection joint comprises an intermediate container (16) and a lid (17). The intermediate container (16) has a bottom) (not numbered), an open top (not shown) and a discharge outlet (not numbered). The discharge outlet is formed on the bottom of the intermediate container (16) and is connected to the upper end of the lower IV tube (18). The lid (17) has a top (not numbered), an inlet (not numbered) and at least one sealed injection port (not numbered) and is mounted securely on the open top of the intermediate container (16). The inlet is formed through the top of the lid (17), and the lower end of the upper IV tube (15) is connected to the inlet. The at least one sealed injection port is tubular and has an internal passage (not shown) and an internal resilient seal (not shown). The internal passage passes through the lid (17) so a hypodermic needle (not shown) on a syringe (not shown) can puncture the resilient seal and inject medicine into the intermediate container (16).
The flow control apparatus (19) is mounted around the lower IV tube (18) to control how quickly IV solution flows to a patient.
The hypodermic needle (21) is connected to the lower end of the lower IV tube and is inserted in a patient's vein so the IV solution can be administered to a patient.
With reference to FIG. 9, another conventional injection joint is a Y-shaped tubular connector (10) and has an inlet (not numbered), a sealed injection port (12) and an outlet (not numbered). The inlet is connected to an IV solution container (not shown) through an upper IV tube (not shown), and the outlet is connected to a hypodermic needle (not shown) through a lower IV tube (not shown). The sealed injection port (12) is sealed with an internal resilient plug (14).
Since some patients need intravenous medication in addition to an IV solution, medication can be injected into the IV solution through the sealed injection port (12). A syringe (20) with a needle (22) is used to inject the medication by puncturing the resilient plug (14) with the needle (22). The medication in the syringe (20) is injected into the sealed injection port (12).
However, use of a syringe (20) with a needle (22) inherently subjects medical personnel to the possibility of injury. A contaminated needle (22) can transfer diseases to a people stabbed with the contaminated needle (22). Not using a needle (22) will improve the safety to medical personnel when injecting medication into the sealed injection port (12).